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2016-10-11 06:12:21

BP

BP

$36.67

0.5 (1.38%)

, STO

Statoil

$17.30

0.42 (2.49%)

06:12

10/11/16

10/11

06:12

10/11/16

06:12

BP decides not to proceed with Great Australian Bight exploration

BP (BP) has taken the decision not to progress its exploration drilling program in the Great Australian Bight, offshore South Australia. The decision follows the review and refresh of BP's upstream strategy earlier this year, which included focusing exploration on opportunities likely to create value in the near to medium term, primarily building on BP's significant existing upstream positions. BP has determined that the GAB project will not be able to compete for capital investment with other upstream opportunities in its global portfolio in the foreseeable future. "We have looked long and hard at our exploration plans for the Great Australian Bight but, inthe current external environment, we will only pursue frontier exploration opportunities if they are competitive and aligned to our strategic goals. After extensive and careful consideration, this has proven not to be the case for our project to explore in the Bight," said Claire Fitzpatrick, BP's Managing Director for Exploration and Production, Australia. "This decision isn't a result of a change in our view of the prospectivity of the region, nor of the ongoing regulatory process run by the independent regulator NOPSEMA. It is an outcome of our strategy and the relative competitiveness of this project in our portfolio." BP has also consulted with its joint venture partner, Statoil (STO), who fully understands BP's change in strategic direction and accepts BP's decision.

Bernstein analyst Oswald Clint downgraded Repsol (REPYY) based on his new analysis which shows that its upstream ROIC ranks sixth among the European integrated oil names he covers. The analyst says that Shell (RDS.A), BP (BP), and Eni (E) rank first, second, and third, respectively. He set an EUR11.30 price target on Repsol, down from EUR13 previously.

09/08/16

BERN

09/08/16DOWNGRADEBERNMarket Perform

Total downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Bernstein

Bernstein analyst Oswald Clint, downgraded Total (TOT) based on his new analysis which shows that its upstream ROIC ranks fifth among the European integrated oil names he covers. The analyst says that Shell (RDS.A), BP (BP), and Eni (E) rank first, second, and third, respectively.He set a $56.61 price target on Total.

Morgan Stanley analyst Jorge Rivas downgraded Statoil to Underweight saying premium valuation is not justified as the bulk of capex cuts are now over, and the start-up pipeline is thin until 2H 2017/18.